It deals with the refusal by
President Grover Cleveland to increase the pensions of Civil War widows
through private bills (i.e. each person had her own bill in Congress)
while pouring money into infrastructure products for harbors. IIRC, the government was largely funded via customs revenue and land
sales, so harbor improvements make sense. The White House has a page on him.
Posted in memory of comics historian John Adcock and his Yesterday's Papers blog where a piece like this would usually have appeared.
